Week 11 - At Least It's Not SEC - FCS Week

Standings

1) Schweinfurth    26-10        (5-4 upset)

2) Hoying              29-12        (4-6 upset)

3) Draper               27-14        (2-8 upset)

4) Seeberg             26-15       (4-6 upset)

The problem with trying to backload college football schedules is the same problem with scheduling Monday Night Football before the season begins: the teams you think will be good, aren't, and then the games suck. Then again, it's been a big week for upsets already...

Louisiana State Tigers @ Arkansas Razorbacks

Draper: The Bayou Bengals played a nice boring game last week in which they lit the scoreboard up (with suck) but then, Bama is Bama. While the LSU offense is a lot of suck + Fournette, the defense is very very good.  Arkansas is led by Austin Allen and he actually had a good game against Bama, but the question is: Will Bert do Bert things? Will those Bert things result in a good surprise for WooPig or a bad surprise?  I really do believe that LSU is a very good team that has been mismanaged.  The talent on the LSU roster is too much for the Hogs to overcome.  LSU: 21 -- Ark: 17

Hoying: The battle for the Golden Boot was perhaps the nation's most entertaining rivalry back in the late Houston Nutt / Bobby Petrino years. The fun has cooled a bit, but anything can still happen, as a mediocre Arkansas team steamrolled LSU last year to salvage their season. Don't expect the same result this time. Coach Eaux is still fighting for his job, and the Tigers still have one of the top defenses in the nation. They didn't get their signature win last week, so beating their rival will have to do. LSU: 24--Ark: 10

Schweinfurth: LSU hung in there better than I expected last week. That match up has to have left some scars on the Tigers. They played for their season and lost. We've all seen this before at other schools and then they get housed the next week. Arkansas has actually looked like a decent team under Bert. While I'm still not sold on Arkansas being "good," they should win this game. LSU: 17--Ark: 31
Seeberg:  Not entirely sure what to make of this one.  Arkansas destroyed Auburn a couple weeks ago, but LSU made Alabama look rather pedestrian, at least offensively, last week.  I expect LSU to be worn out after that effort which may play into the Razorbacks' favor.  LSU finally gets on the board again, but not enough to win it.  LSU: 20--Ark: 27

Southern California Trojans @ Washington Huskies

Draper: Washington has a decent win in Salt Lake City over a decent Utah team thanks to a fluky punt return...and that's it.  Their resume is flaming pile of poo with horrid non-conference wins and a butt nonconference schedule.  USC has certainly not lived up to any expectations, but they certainly will provide a more viable opponent than most of the Pac 12. While the opponents have sucked, Washington has taken care of business with (mostly) ease.  The Huskies will be happy to be in Seattle for this showdown, but is the home-cookin enough?  I could honestly see this going either way, but there is still a chip on the Huskies' shoulders with most of the country doubting them.  I want to Fight On, but it's time to (once again) Bow Down to Washington.  USC: 17 -- UW: 27

Hoying: You don't get to be king of the Big Ten without dispatching Ohio State, you don't get to rule the SEC without unseating Alabama, and you don't get to be the best in the west without a sack of Troy. Allowing less than 20 ppg is nothing short of jaw-dropping in the land that defense forgot, but now the Huskies will have to deal with a pretty-good USC offense. Should they be worried? No, not really. USC: 23--UW: 38

Schweinfurth:  Does anyone remember week one? You know that game where USC went up against a top 5 team and got dismantled. But yet, USC is back baby...or not. Chris Peterson has Washinton humming along so far this year. While not a great defensive team (hello Pac-12) they can sure put up some points. Washington jumps out to a quick lead and never looks back. USC: 28--UW: 45
Seeberg:  Well looky here, Washington actually has to play someone respectable.  Aside from a narrow win at Utah, the Huskies have nothing to write home about on their resume, but at least they've beaten everyone they were supposed to beat.  USC enters on a five-game streak themselves after a rough start.  I don't respect UW's solid defensive numbers as they haven't played much of anybody; however, I am convinced they can score on just about anybody, and they should outscore the Trojans at home.  USC: 24--UW: 38

Minnesota Golden Gophers @ Nebraska Cornhuskers

Draper: Hello there Golden Gophers at 7-2.  Yeah, they've been unimpressive, but this is a perfect game for Tracy Claeys to 'earn' B1G Coach of the Year for no good reason.  While the Gophers and Huskers have the same record, the wins for both are jsut pathetic.  Nebraska has a few more decent wins and better losses by far.  In Omaha, even with the potential of no Tommy Armstrong, I'll give a slight edge to Nebraska.  It doesn't mean much but it will end a 2-game skid.  Minn: 17 -- Neb: 24

Hoying: YEEEEAAAAHHHH prime time on Big Ten Network, which is exactly what these teams deserve. A week ago, you may have thought that this game would be a total mismatch, and you might still be right, but Minnesota hasn't been run out of the building in any of their games this season. True, the best team they've played is Penn State, back when PSU's whole defense was injured, but they're two scores away from being 9-0 and the nation's most laughable paper tiger. Instead they're 7-2 and probably getting ready to kick off a nice 3 game skid (1-2 at best) to finish the season. Future Nebraska star QB Rykyr Fyfye begins his career as a starter 1-0. Minn: 13--Neb: 24

Schweinfurth: This game now has some intrigue with the possibility of Tommy Armstrong not playing. I expect the Huskers to bounce back against a Minnesota team that has been feasting on the bottom of the B1G the last few weeks. This game will be close, only because of the questions surrounding Armstrong's health. The Huskers bounce back and keep OSU and Wisconsin's schedule looking good to the committee. Minn: 20 --Neb: 28
Seeberg:  Minnesota and Nebraska are a combined 14-4, yet one of the squads isn't even ranked while the other is ranked largely on the strength of its losses.  Is Tommy Armstrong good to go?  He practiced without contact today (Thursday) and is said to be likely to play.  I don't buy it.  Minnesota does not have the athletes that Nebraska has, but they are more disciplined and likely fuming at a lack of respect given their current record.  A lousy backup or a rusty Armstrong are both bad scenarios for the Huskers.  The state full of nuclear waste gets a signature(?) win with an upset on the road.  Minn: 21--Neb: 16

THE Ohio State Buckeyes @ Maryland Terrapins

Draper: After a definite return to form, the Bucks played at another level last week.  This week is about maintaining and keeping the Wolverines on edge.  Maryland is bad (and should feel bad), but will OSU treat them as the weirdly dressed stepchildren they are?  I expect the coaches will have the team focused on the week to week and keep the pain train running.  JT needs to continue to up the air game with the intermediate passes while the ground game continues to steamroll.  JT hasn't been running much lately so it's time to return that aspect of the offense to prominence.  JT runs for 150 and throws for 250 with Samuel the prime back as Weber heals up.  Look for a Binjamin Victor TD and much more underneath routes.  Defense gets another TD and the Bucks roll. OSU: 45 -- Maryland: 10

Hoying: Last year the Buckeyes faced a bad, bad Maryland team but couldn't put them away until well into the third quarter. Why? Perry Hills. The Terp QB couldn't complete a pass but gashed the Bullets for 170 yards rushing. What will happen when this year's Buckeye defense faces an athletic quarterback who can't throw, and this year's offense faces a defense that just got lit up by the Wolverines for 59 points...OSU: 49--Maryland: 13

Schweinfurth:  November always brings out the best in the Buckeyes. The last few weeks prove this out. Now to keep the pedal to the floor. Maryland is a banged up team, especially on offense. the Silver Bullets should have themselves a day here. No more Dontre Wilson fielding punts should mean less heartburn for Buckeye fans and coaches. What will be interesting is how much Mike Weber plays this week. We will probably see lots of McCall if the Bucks get up big early just to protect Weber's shoulder. Urban usually backs off late in games against friends and former coaches so we won't see 60 this week. Enjoy the blowout and get ready for revenge next week! OSU: 56--Maryland: 10
Seeberg:  Sixty-freaking-two to three.  Cameron Johnston had nine friends fly in from Australia for the game...and they didn't even get to see him punt.  Tough to do much better than that.  Enter the once-thought-to-be-decent-this-year Terrapins who have fallen predictably down to a snail's turtle's pace (#seewhatIdidthere?).  As long as we get Samuel and Weber the ball and keep the suddenly lucid play-calling up, there's no reason why we can't dismantle Maryland in a similar fashion as Nebraska.  Well, 62-3 might be asking a bit much, but you get the idea.  OSU: 49--Maryland: 6

Upset Special

Draper: Georgia over Auburn

Hoying: Ole Miss over Texas A&M

Schweinfurth: Indiana over Penn St.
Seeberg:  Tulsa over Navy

Grading the Bucks--Week 10: Nebraska

Looks like I was wrong about the days being gone in which we bash opponents to the ground.  That's the performance I've been waiting for the last few weeks.  Now, it's time to keep the trajectory to greatness.

Offense: A
MVP: Curtis Samuel
What a difference a 3rd lackluster performance makes.  The game was defined early by Nebraska being unable to generate any short of pass rush and the Buckeye's carving up the secondary.  I love that the coaches finally started utilizing the middle of the field in intermediate passing routes (perhaps it took a realization that Samuel is the best receiver in the middle of the field).  JT looked great even though he still missed on a few deep balls (although people need to realize that the greatest QB in the world doesn't hit all the downfield bombs).  Weber still looked phenomenal between the tackles fighting for extra yards, but the day belonged to Samuel.  It really felt that he was used a lot in the game, but used properly.  He seemed to get the ball via pass and run in appropriate situations in which it didn't feel like he was forced into the action.  The action came to him and the Buckeyes flourished.

Defense: A
MVP: Malik Hooker
What more can you say? The front seven demolished the Husker line and the secondary shut them down.  Tommy Armstrong or no, this game was over before it started.  McMillan has really had a great year that has gone unappreciated with the defenses avoiding him.  The tipped balls yielding interceptions show his dedication to film and quick reaction.  The only reason Nebraska got their 3 was because of a fluky tipped pass on 3rd and 7.  Without that, we're staring a goose-egg in which the defense puts up another 2 scores.  Total domination.

Special Teams: C+
MVP: Everyone not named Dontre Wilson
Urban, you've had your fun, but it's done.  #2 should not ever return a punt again.  The muffed punt by Wilson was really the only negative play in the game and gave a little momentum to the Big Red (that the defense quickly destroyed).  Durbin made his FG (yay) and the kickoff coverage was actually really good.  Johnston...didn't punt (even though he said 9 people came from Australia to see him play) so no problems there.  I don't care what happens going forward as long as we try someone else returning punts that doesn't make all of Buckeye Nation hold their breath (in a bad way) ever time he attempts to catch the ball.  Demario McCall looked really good (albeit in a small sample size).  I'd love to get the ball in his hands more often via punt returns.

Coaching: A-
The playcalling finally found that groove from earlier in the season which was a joy to see.  Both sides of the ball schemed and executed nearly flawlessly.  The only problem was the special teams which I believe will be rectified soon enough.  I need that fire from the coaches to continue over the next few weeks.  No mercy to Maryland or Sparty.  Those need to be absolute drubbings with no let ups to let the Sun and Blue know...we're coming for you.

Overall: A
It's hard to have 'beef' when you beat a top 10 team by 59, never punt, and stifle the opponent at every turn.  Sure, Nebraska probably isn't as good as their record, but it never hurts to teach the young-uns who's boss.  No mercy.